A YORK barbershop has been temporarily shut down by City of York Council for breaking Covid rules.

Q Gentlemens Barbers in Bishopthorpe Road was closed last night, Thursday, and will be able to reopen on May 20.

A council spokesperson said the closure has been ordered to give the owners time to put coronavirus safety measures in place.

The Press revealed 10 days ago that the business had already been fined six times by the council - totalling £9,000 - following claims it had been operating during lockdown.

Council bosses appealed for residents to get in touch to share their experiences.

Matt Boxall, head of public protection at the council, said: “Following a number of complaints from residents regarding the operations of Q Gentlemens Barbers at 31 Bishopthorpe Road, York, City of York Council have carried out numerous site visits to check on Covid-safety measures, provide advice to the business and, when it wasn’t taken, issued warnings.

"Regretfully, numerous further complaints have since been received and as a result City of York Council have given direction on 13 May 2021 to Q Gentlemens Barbers York Ltd of 31 Bishopthorpe Road, York, and its two directors, Mr Ryan Cross and Mr Dylan Bell, under Regulation 4(1) of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England)(No.3) Regulations 2020 requiring the premises to close from 6pm on 13 May 2021 to 6pm on 20 May 2021 to enable the premises to put in the necessary measures to keep people safe.

"This isn’t a step we wanted to take but is necessary to keep people safe and also be fair to the businesses who have gone to great lengths to make their places COVID safe.

"We will continue to offer support and guidance to the business to help them open up and keep customers safe.

“People and businesses have made huge sacrifices this year and this instance is not a reflection of the wider efforts.

"We want to say thank you, our collective efforts have meant we can move to the next step of the roadmap and they have saved lives.

"Whilst the vaccine roll out gives us hope we can’t afford to be complacent.

“As a council we continue to work to support businesses through the pandemic, offering advice and support to help people stay safe and keep York open.

"We are hugely grateful to the vast majority of businesses who have been incredible, putting in safety measures and following the guidance to keep people safe.

“Our thanks go to the public for reporting breaches."

He added that residents can get in touch with concerns by emailing public.protection@york.gov.uk or calling 01904 551525.